French footballer Benzema found guilty of sex tape of his colleague

French footballer Karim Benzema has been sentenced to one year probation and fined 75,000 euros for his involvement in a sex tape extortion scandal that rocked French sport.

A Versailles court on Wednesday found Benzeman guilty of collaborating in an attempt to blackmail his French team-mate Mathieu Valbuena over a video allegedly stolen from Valbuena's cell phone.

Benzema's lawyer said the Real Madrid striker would immediately appeal the sentence, calling it "unfair and based on no evidence". Benzema, who denied having blackmailed, was absent from court due to sporting commitments, but his lawyers said he would be present if a second trial were held on appeal.

The scandal rocked French football in 2015 and the investigation and court case had cast a shadow over the national team ever since. An investigation was opened in July 2015 when midfielder Valbuena, who then played for France and Lyon, went to the police after being contacted by an unknown man who claimed to have possessed an apparently incriminating sex tape. with a cell phone. The caller did not specify a sum of money, but said they should reach an agreement.

Benzema, 33, was one of five people on trial last month for extortion efforts against Valbuena. Benzema was accused of encouraging Valbuena to deal with the blackmailers and pay them. One mediator was a childhood friend of Benzema. Benzema's lawyer denied in court that he was an accomplice in the blackmail, saying he had only intervened to help his teammate find a solution, not to blackmail him.

The court found Benzeman guilty of collaborating in targeting Valbuena, who now plays for Greek club Olympiakos. The judge said Wednesday that Benzema was personally involved, persistently, in trying to persuade Mathieu Valbuena to meet his trusted man. The court found that Benzema did not show "any kindness" to Valbuena and instead had acted "with some emotion, even excitement".

Both Benzema and Valbuena lost their places on the national team in 2015 when the scandal erupted and preliminary reports were raised.

Adapted from the Guardian